


tried to hitch a ride to san francisco

by vlieger



Category: Princess Diaries (2001 2004)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 20:24:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/299707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vlieger/pseuds/vlieger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was odd that somehow, in a trio which contained Lilly in the Docs she refused to give up for shoes more friendly to the marble palace floors (much to the housekeeper's continuing distress) and Clarisse in her tailored Chanel and matching Louboutins, Mia still felt like she was the only misnomer.</p><p>Maybe that had something to do with being Queen at twenty-one.</p><p>Or possibly the Cheshire Cat pyjama pants with holes around the hems. It was a close call.</p>
            </blockquote>





	tried to hitch a ride to san francisco

**Author's Note:**

  * For [epeeblade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/epeeblade/gifts).



Mia watched the sunrise with an oddly critical eye for someone who wasn't Lilly Moscowitz. The thing was, she supposed, that over the course of her life she'd watched more sunrises from the fire escape of her mom's San Francisco apartment than from the roof of the five-hundred year-old royal palace in Genovia.

The light was different here, the blood-tinged pale cheek of dawn not quite so at odds with the landscape it backlit, touching trees instead of skyscrapers to their first golden stretch of the day, quaint old farmhouses and medieval postcard-picture buildings creaking to life instead of chipped old flapper apartments and dingy warehouses.

The birds shaking off the morning dew were starlings instead of pigeons, and it was beautiful in an entirely different, still less comfortable way.

"Amelia, for heaven's sake," came her grandmother's stern and utterly unexpected (which was quite justified, Mia felt, since she was on the _roof_ and all) voice.

Mia jumped and grabbed hold of the nearest chimney to keep her balance.

"Grandma," she said, turning when she was sufficiently stable to locate the source of the voice, which turned out to be a skylight several feet to her right. "How are you-- isn't that the private sitting room?" She only asked because as far as she knew, the private sitting room had ceilings in excess of ten feet from the floor.

"It is," said Clarisse, "So if you would kindly offer me a hand."

"Shall I tell Gerard we'll be needing his ladder a while longer?" came Joe's voice.

"Yes, dear," called Clarisse. "Do hurry up, Mia, Joseph is standing on a two-hundred year-old Venetian chaise lounge while you cling to your chimney."

"Uh, grandma, are you sure you should be-- " Mia blinked as Clarisse folded her left elbow over the roof tiles and started pulling herself up. "Okay." She shook her head and uncurled her arms from around the chimney, reaching out slowly to clasp Clarisse's free hand and help pull her safely onto the roof.

"Dear me," said Clarisse, eyeing the tiles critically before settling to a seat, legs crossed daintily and back straight. "We really ought to have someone clean up here."

"Grandma," said Mia. "What are you doing here?"

"I am here," said Clarisse, folding her hands neatly, "To remind you that you are the Queen and this is a rooftop, and there is no occasion I can fathom upon which those two should meet."

"But you're-- "

"The _former_ Dowager Princess, Amelia, do keep up," said Clarisse.

"So once I'm not queen anymore, I'll be allowed back on the roof," said Mia.

Clarisse raised an eyebrow. "How on earth did you get up here, if I may inquire," she said.

"From the balcony," said Mia.

"You know how Gerard cares for those vines," said Clarisse disapprovingly.

"There was also a pipe," said Mia.

Clarisse sighed. "And yet, I'd rather you destroyed the shrubbery than the plumbing."

"Mia," said Lilly, sticking her head through the skylight, "I _told_ you we had that meeting with the Genovian produce secretary this morning! What are you _doing_ up here?"

Mia pressed her forehead to the chimney. "Sorry, grandma," she said. "Sorry, Lilly, I completely forgot."

Lilly sighed. "Why are we up here?" she said. "Are you having another existential crisis? I warned you about those."

"It's not like I can actually go anywhere this time," said Mia, sweeping an arm to indicate the rooftop. "Although, you know, I think it would be great if we installed some kind of proper access to this place. Ooh, maybe a slide for when the princesses come 'round again, or-- " She caught her grandmother's eyes. "Uh. Or not."

"While I fully support your fostering relationships with foreign royals, I have no intention of encouraging your ridiculous penchant for climbing things," said Clarisse.

"Yeah, Mia," said Lilly, huffing as she pulled herself awkwardly onto the roof. "Really, this isn't the easiest place for me to get to, let alone your grandmother."

"That's kind of the point," said Mia.

"Thank you, Lilly," said Clarisse dryly.

"And anyway, it's not like I asked you to follow me up here," said Mia, hugging her arms around her knees.

"When the Queen of Genovia is spotted on the _roof_ , people tend to worry, doofus," said Lilly, rolling her eyes.

"Not to mention talk," added Clarisse.

"Stupid farming country waking up at stupidly early hours," said Mia under her breath.

Lilly crawled across to sit beside Mia with her back against the chimney. She already had on her favourite Le Rouge shade of YSL lipstick and her hair today was streaked through with turquoise that set off her natural black strikingly in the light. Mia was still in her pyjamas, hair swept up in a messy bun that would take at least twenty minutes of painful combing to smooth out. It was odd that somehow, in a trio which contained Lilly in the Docs she refused to give up for shoes more friendly to the marble palace floors (much to the housekeeper's continuing distress) and Clarisse in her tailored Chanel and matching Louboutins, Mia still felt like she was the only misnomer.

Maybe that had something to do with being Queen at twenty-one.

Or possibly the Cheshire Cat pyjama pants with holes around the hems. It was a close call.

"Will madams be coming down for breakfast?" said Joe, appearing with his sunglasses on through the skylight, "Or should I have it sent up?"

"Oh, that would be-- "

"-- Not necessary," said Clarisse, raising a delicate eyebrow at Mia.

"Oh, but a picnic on the roof, so hipster!" said Lilly.

"You hate hipsters," said Mia. "Some coffee?" she added, widening her eyes at Clarisse. "Just one cup? Then I'll come down for breakfast."

"I can't believe we have to talk the Queen of Genovia down from the roof with coffee," said Lilly.

Clarisse sighed. "Oh, alright," she said. "Coffee. And some tea, if you'd be so kind."

"Coming up," said Joe, disappearing to shout to the morning staff.

"In exchange," said Clarisse, levelling a keen eye at Mia, "I would like you to tell me why we're all convened up here on the roof."

Mia pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, shrugging. "Everyone needs a break from being queen sometimes, right?"

"Because _so_ many people have that exact problem," said Lilly, rolling her eyes.

"Shut up, Lils," said Mia. "Doesn't mean it doesn't suck sometimes."

"Is this about Nicholas?" said Clarisse. "Is something wrong between the two of you?"

"No," said Mia. "No, I'm just…tired, I guess. I kind of want to visit home. San Fran."

"Well, I suppose we could arrange a royal visit," said Clarisse slowly.

"See, that's not." Mia stopped, biting down on her lip. "I just want to visit. Sleep in my old room and eat breakfast with my mom in our pyjamas. I think Fat Louie misses the neighbourhood."

"Amelia," said Clarisse gently, "You are the Queen. Any visit is a royal visit."

"Yeah, well." Mia toed at the ragged edge of a tile. "It's stupid."

"Sometimes," said Clarisse. "But we all have to put up with it one way or another."

"Yeah, _we_ all have to put up with you," said Lilly.

"Indeed," said Clarisse.

"I like it here, anyway," said Lilly.

"That's because you know you have to go back to the pretentious douchebags and fake political activists at Berkeley," said Mia.

"I only said some of them were fake," said Lilly. " _My_ friends aren't."

"Coffee, ladies," said Joe, appearing at the skylight again with a large thermos.

He handed it to Mia along with a spare cup for Lilly, and ducked down to re-emerge with a gold-edged china teacup and saucer for Clarisse.

"Thank you," she said, smiling and transferring the saucer to rest in the palm of her left hand.

"Yeah, thanks Joe," said Mia, curling her hands around the thermos.

"My pleasure," said Joe, climbing to join them on the roof. "Are we here to admire the view?"

"We're here discussing Mia's existential crisis," said Lilly.

"It's not an existential crisis," said Mia.

"Ah," said Joe. "Shall I get the car ready?"

"Oh my God, I didn't _run away_ ," said Mia, throwing up her hands. A drop of coffee sloshed out of the open thermos and landed on Lilly's wrist.

" _Ow_ ," she said. "Watch it, princess."

"Queen, actually," said Mia smugly. "Anyway, I just went for a walk."

"You got lost in the forest," said Lilly. "How does that even happen in real life?"

"Well, it still wasn't running away," said Mia into her coffee.

Joe chuckled.

"Oh, shut up," said Mia.

"Mia." Clarisse set her teacup down with a strangely vicious sound for something so dainty.

"Sorry," said Mia.

"We are here," said Clarisse firmly, "To discuss Mia's still royal but not diplomatically taxing visit to San Francisco."

"I," said Mia. "What?"

"In the meantime," said Clarisse, "We have breakfast to attend and a long-overdue meeting with the Genovian produce secretary to reschedule, I think."

"Grandma," said Mia, wedging the thermos between Lilly's knees and leaning over to hug Clarisse, sending the teacup shattering across the tiles.

"Mia," said Clarisse with a sigh, exasperated but not unamused.

"Don't worry," said Joe, "I didn't use the good china."


End file.
